Production of transgenic blastocyst of sheep by somatic cell cloning

Five samples from primary cultures of five sheep ovarian granulosa cells were transfected by pEGFP- N1 DNA. Five transgenic positive cell lines, each from one of the five samples above, were used as donor nuclei for somatic nucleus transfer. A total of 352 in vitro matured and enucleated sheep oocytes were fused electrically with transgenic granulosa cells and 329 reconstructed embryos were obtained after activation by Ionomycin/6-DMAP, and these embryos were cultured in SOFaaBSA medium for 7 d. The result shows that 312 embryos (94.8%) had gone through cleavage and among them 63 (19.1%) had developed to the blastocyst stage. Expression of GFP gene was detected in various stages of early embryonic development by sampling randomly. Blastocyst rates given by the four cells treated with 0.5% FCS starvation was 19.6% (55/280) and it had not shown difference significantly (P＞0.05) with the result obtained with another cell line that had not gone through serum starvation (16.3%, 8/49). This experiment indicates that sheep transgenic embryos up to the blastocyst stage can be produced effectively by the combination of gene transfection in somatic cells in culture and somatic cell cloning.     

Production of transgenic calves by somatic cellnuclear transfer

Bovine fetal oviduct epithelial cells were transfected with constructed double marker selective vector(pCE-EGFP-IRES-Neo-dNdB) containing the enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) and neomycin-resistant(Neo^r) genes by electroporation, and a transgenic cell line was obtained. Somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) was cartied out using the transgenic cells as nuclei donor. A total of 424 SCNT embryos were reconstructed and 208 (49.1%) of them developed to blastocyst stage. 17 blastocysts on D 7 after reconstruction were transferred to 17 surrogate calves,and 5 (29.4%) recipients were found to be pregnant. Three of them maintained to term and delivered three cloned calves.PCR and Southern blot analysis confirmed the integration of transgene in all of the three cloned calves. In addition, expression of EGFP was detected in biopsy isolated from the transgenic cloned calves and fibroblasts derived from the biopsy. Our results suggest that transgenic calves could be efficiently produced by SCNT using transgenic cells as nuclei donor. Furthermore, all cloned animals could be ensured to be transgenic by efficiently pre-screening transgenic cells and SCNT embryos using the constructed double marker selective vector.     

Effects of different nuclear transfer and activation methods on the development of mouse somatic cell cloned embryos

A group of adult somatic cell cloned mice were obtained by using cumulus cells as nuclei donor cells. To study the effect of different nuclear transfer (NT) and activation methods on the development of mouse cloned embryos, embryos were reconstructed using two traditional NT methods (electrofusion and direct injection) and four activation treatments (electric pulse, ethanol, SrCl2 and electric pulse combined with SrCl2). The data showed that the efficiency of reconstruction using the direct injection method is significantly higher (90.7%) than that of the electrofusion method (49.7%). Parthenogenetic embryos can develop to blastocyst stage with three activation conditions, including ethanol, electric pulse and SrCl2; however, the rates of development to blastocyst after ethanol and electric pulse acti-vation (52.4%, 54.2%) are significantly lower than after SrCl2 activation (76.9%). Treatment of embryos for 6 h with 10 mmol/L SrCl2 was found to be the best condition for activation of parthenogenetic as well as reconstructed embryos. By contrast, reconstructed embryos failed to develop to blastocyst stage after being activated by ethanol. The use of either injection or electrofusion for embryo reconstruction affected the pre-implantation development. However, after transfer in pseudopregnant mice, cloned mice were obtained from both methods.     

Effect of HS2 and HS3 elements on erythroid-specific expression in transgenic mice

The expression plasmids CMV/GFP, HS2ALL, HS3ALL and HS23ALL were selected to investigate the effect of HS2 and HS3 element on erythroid-specific expression in transgenic mice. These plasmids were digested with restriction enzymes and purified. And five DNA fragments, CMV/GFP, HS2/GFP, CMV/HS2/GFP, HS23/GFP and HS3/GFP were obtained. After purification, the above DNA fragments were microinjected into the pre-nuclei of the mice fertilized eggs and transgenic mice were generated, with an integration rate of 10.89%. The green fluorescence protein(GFP) expression in many transgenic mouse tissues was determined by FACS analysis. The results showed that the HS2 and 1.7 kb of β-globin gene promoter were sufficient for the erythroid-specific expression of β-globin gene. The GFP expression of different recombinant constructs was also analyzed in blood of all the transgenic mice with FACS. The results indicated that HS2 and HS3 had the same enhancement activity on the regulation of β-globin gene expression. Moreover, these two elements showed a significant synergistic effect on gene expression at the transgenic mouse level, although the GFP expression varied largely among different transgenic mouse litters.     

Effect of leptin on oocyte maturation and subsequent pregnancy rate of cloned embryos reconstructed by somatic cell nuclear transfer in pigs

Cloning pigs by somatic cell nuclear transfer （SCNT） has wide applications in basic research, human medicine and agricultural production. To improve cloning efficiency, the effect of two basic maturation media, NCSU-23 and TCM199, was compared, and TCM199 was selected for the following experiments with leptin. We systematically studied the effects of leptin supplementation on oocytes in vitro maturation （IVM）, in vitro development of parthenogenetically activated （PA） and SCNT embryos and in vivo development of SCNT embryos after embryo transfer （ET）. The results showed that supplementation of 100 or 200 ng/ml leptin into the maturation medium did not greatly affect nuclear maturation of oocytes, or cleavage rates of PA and SCNT （P 〉 0.05）. Blastocyst rates of PA and SCNT embryos were significantly improved when 100 or 200 ng/ml leptin was added to maturation medium, and the number of cells in PA blastocysts was also improved （P 〈 0.05）. The number of cells in blastocyst of SCNT was improved, when 100 ng/ml leptin was added （P 〈 0.05）. Furthermore, supplementation of 100 or 200 ng/ml leptin to the IVM medium may improve pregnancy rate and the delivery rate inpig cloning.     

Serial nuclear transfer improves the development of interspecies reconstructed giant panda (Aluropoda melanoleuca) embryos

Interspecies somatic nuclear transfer (NT) may provide a new approach for preservation of the endangered rare species. Previous interspecies cloning studies have shown that a nucleus from a quiescent somatic cell supports early development of reconstructed embryos in the ooplasm from another species. In this study, we transferred nonquiescent somatic cells from a giant panda into the perivitelline space of the enucleated rabbit oocytes. After electrofusion (at the rate of 71.6％) and electrical activation, 4.2％ of the panda-rabbit reconstructed embryos developed to blastocyst in vitro. For improving the development rate of reconstructed embryos, we used serial NT in this study, I.e. Blastomeres from reconstructed morulae were transferred into the perivitelline space of the enucleated rabbit oocytes. The fusion rates in the groups of serial Ⅰ, serial Ⅱ and serial Ⅲ were 79.5％, 84.1％ and 78.0％, respectively, having no difference with that of somatic group. And the blastocyst rates in serial NT groups were 19.4％, 13.5％ and 10.3％, respectively, which are significantly higher than that in somatic NT group. These results indicate that the nuclei from nonquiescent somatic cells can support early development of reconstructed embryos and serial NT can improve the development rate of interspecies reconstructed embryos.     

Aberrant DNA methylation in cloned ovine embryos

By using the approach of immunofluorescence staining with an antibody against 5-methylcytosine （5MeC）, the present study detected the DNA methylation patterns of cloned ovine embryos. The embryos derived from in vitro fertilization were also examined for reference purpose. The results showed that： （1） during the preimplantation development, cloned embryos displayed a similar demethylation profile to the fertilized embryos; that is, the methylation level decreased to the lowest at 8-cell stage, and then increased again at morulae stage. However, methylation level was obviously higher in cloned embryos than in stage-matched fertilized embryos, especially at 8-cell stage and afterwards; （2） at blastocyst stage, the methylation pattern in cloned embryos was different from that in fertilized embryos. In cloned blastocyst, inner cell mass （ICM） exhibited a comparable level to trophectoderm cells （TE）, while in in-vitro fertilized blastocyst the methylation level of ICM was lower than that of TE, which is not consistent with that reported by other authors. These results indicate that DNA methylation is abnormally reprogrammed in cloned embryos, implying that aberrant DNA methylation reprogramming may be one of the factors causing cloned embryos developmental failure.     

Production of transgenic mice carrying green fluorescence proteingene by a lentiviral vector-mediated approach

A pseudo-lentivirus, which carries green fluorescence protein (GFP) expressing cassette, was injected into the perivitelline space of murine fertilized oocytes before transplanting into the oviducts of the foster mothers. The GFP transgenic pups were then obtained. By PCR amplification, fluorescent microscopy and flow assisted cytometry sorting analysis, we found that the integration rate of the transgene was estimated at above 40%. Real-time PCR analysis indicated that the copy number of the integrated GFP cassette was around 40. Fluorescent in situ hybridization analysis demonstrated that the integration pattern was random but inheritable. The transgenic mice with multi-integration sites and various expression levels possessed a great value in practice as well as research. The approach reported herein provides an efficient way to generate and screen the transgenic mouse strains.     

Ubi1 intron-mediated enhancement of the expression of Bt cry1Ah gene in transgenic maize （Zea mays L.）

The cry1Ah gene was one of novel insecticidal genes cloned from Bacillus thuringiensis isolate BT8. Two plant expression vectors containing cry1Ah gene were constructed. The first intron of maize ubiqutinl gene was inserted between the maize Ubiquitin promoter and cry1Ah gene in one of the plant expressing vectors （pUUOAH）. The two vectors were introduced into maize immature embryonic calli by microprojectile bombardment, and the reproductively plants were acquired. PCR and Southern blot analysis showed that foreign genes had been integrated into maize genome and inherited to the next generation stably. The ELISA assay to T1 and T2 generation plants showed that the expression of CrylAh protein in the construct containing the ubil intron （pUUOAH） was 20% higher than that of the intronless construct （pUOAH）. Bioassay results showed that the transgenic maize harboring cry1Ah gene had high resistance to the Asian corn borers and the insecticidal activity of the transgenic maize containing the ubil intron was higher than that of the intronless construct. These results indicated that the maize ubil intron can enhance the expression of the Bt cry1Ah gene in transgenic maize efficiently     

Clone of Chinese Jinan red-cross yellow cattle and evaluation of reproductive characteristics of cloned calf

Somatic cell clone technology is a viable approach to preserving endangered livestock and wildlife genetic resources. In the present research, somatic cell nuclear transfer （SCNT） was performed using granulose cells from the critical endangered Chinese red-cross yellow cattle as donor cells. A total of 211 oocytes were manipulated and 166 （79%） of them were successfully enucleated. 112 （67.4%） SCNT embryos were reconstructed, 94 （83%） of them cleaved, and 48 （43 %） of them developed to blastocyst stage. SCNT blastocysts were transferred to 6 Holstein recipients, and 2 （33%） of them were found to be pregnant. One of them maintained to term and delivered a calf, whereas another aborted. Effect of different fusion buffer （mannitol vs. Zimmerman fusion buffer） and different activation methods （calcium ionophore＋6-DMAP vs. cycloheximide＋CB） on fusion rate and development of SCNT embryos were investigated. The results indicated that： （i） on condition of two DC pulses of 2.5 kV/cm for 10 μs each, fusion rates were higher in mannitol solution than in Zimmerman fusion buffer （71% vs. 61%, respectively, p 〈 0.05）, but the blastocysts rates did not differ between two treatments （36 % vs. 39 %, p〉0.05 ）; （ii） There was no significant difference in development rates to the blastocyst stage for SCNT embryos activated by calcium ionophore＋6-DMAP or by cycloheximide＋CB （42% vs. 46%, respectively, p〉0.05）. Microsatellite DNA analysis examining 28 loci confirmed that the cloned calf was genetically identical to the donor Jinan red-cross yellow cattle and different from the recipient females. Growth and reproductive performance of cloned cow were evaluated, and there were no difference i cross-red n it between cloned and normal control Jinan yellow cattle. Furthermore, the cloned yellow cow has delivered a healthy yellow calf.     

实验用小型猪胎儿成纤维细胞和骨髓间充质细胞为核供体生产转基因克隆胚胎

目的比较不同类型体细胞对生产转基因克隆胚胎效率的影响。方法利用脂质体介导的方法将质粒pEGFP-N1转染到五指山小型猪胎儿成纤维细胞和骨髓间充质细胞,经过G418筛选后均获得了阳性细胞株。然后分别以两种类型转基因细胞以及未转基因细胞为核供体进行体细胞核移植,比较不同类型供体细胞克隆胚胎的囊胚发育率。结果胎儿成纤维细胞和骨髓间充质细胞克隆胚的囊胚发育率差异不显著(P>0.05,8.3%vs.7.1%);转基因胎儿成纤维细胞(9.6%)和转基因骨髓间充质细胞(9.9%)克隆胚胎的囊胚发育率差异不显著(P>0.05,9.6%vs.9.9%);每一种类型供体细胞转基因与否对克隆胚的囊胚发育率无影响(P>0.05)。结论通过体细胞核移植技术,小型猪骨髓间充质细胞与胎儿成纤维细胞均可有效地生产转基因囊胚。     

Cloned pigs derived from somatic cell nuclear transfer embryos cultured in vitro at low oxygen tension

Great progress have been made in animal cloning in China, as evidenced by the live births of cloned cat- tle[1,2], goats[3,4], and sheep[5]. In contrast, pig cloning is still in its infancy though limited fundamental studieshave been conducted[6]. It is g…     

Production of human lysozyme-transgenic cloned porcine embryos by somatic nuclear transfer

Due to their physiology and organ size, pigs have significant potential as human disease models and as organ transplantation donors. Genetic modification of pigs could provide benefits for both agriculture and human medicine. In this study, five fetal pig fibroblast cell lines from two species (Wuzhishan and Landrace pigs) were transfected using double-marked human lysozyme (HLY) plasmids (pBC1-HLY-GFP-NEO) by a liposome-mediated method. The ratio of green fluorescent protein (GFP)-expressing cells was >95% in sw7, sw8, slw3 and slw6 cell lines, but only 49.3% in slw9 cells. Cells from the four highly transgenic lines were used as nuclear donors to construct embryos, which were then cultured after fusion and activation by electric stimulation. The rate of cleavage was 76.7%, 48 h after activation. After 7 days, 18.5% of cleaved eggs had developed to the blastocyst stage and 93.3% of blastocysts were GFP-positive. These results indicate that transgenic fetal pig fibroblast cell lines could be obtained by a liposome-mediated method, though the transfection efficiency varied between cell lines. Reconstructed embryos derived from transgenic cells could successfully develop into blastocysts, most of which were GFP-positive.     

Cloned pigs produced by nuclear transfer from adult somatic cells

Since the first report of live mammals produced by nuclear transfer from a cultured differentiated cell population in 1995 (ref. 1), successful development has been obtained in sheep, cattle, mice and goats using a variety of somatic cell types as nuclear donors. The methodology used for embryo reconstruction in each of these species is essentially similar: diploid donor nuclei have been transplanted into enucleated MII oocytes that are activated on, or after transfer. In sheep and goat pre-activated oocytes have also proved successful as cytoplast recipients. The reconstructed embryos are then cultured and selected embryos transferred to surrogate recipients for development to term. In pigs, nuclear transfer has been significantly less successful; a single piglet was reported after transfer of a blastomere nucleus from a four-cell embryo to an enucleated oocyte; however, no live offspring were obtained in studies using somatic cells such as diploid or mitotic fetal fibroblasts as nuclear donors. The development of embryos reconstructed by nuclear transfer is dependent upon a range of factors. Here we investigate some of these factors and report the successful production of cloned piglets from a cultured adult somatic cell population using a new nuclear transfer procedure.     

Investigation of hrDNA targeting vector-mediated tumor-specific suicide gene therapy for hepatocellular carcinoma

Vectors pose most pivotal problem of gene therapy[1]. Because of the high transfection efficiency both in vitro and in vivo, the viral vector has been employed in 70% clinical trials of gene therapy (http://www.wiley.co.uk/ genmed/clinical). However, thei…     

Effects of different nuclear recipients on developmental potential of mouse somatic nuclear transfer embryos

Somatic cell nuclear transfer has been succeeded in procedures of nuclear transfer. One is single nucleartransfer, the other is serial nuclear transfer. Viable animals have been cloned in different species using both me-thods[1—6]. Different nuclear recipients and donors wereused in serial nuclear transfer, namely, transferring thenuclear of reconstructed embryo into enucleated MⅡoocytes[7], transferring the nuclear of reconstructed em-bryos at one cell stage into enucleated zygote[4] and t…     

Serial nuclear transfer improves the development of interspecies reconstructed giant panda (Aluropoda melanoleuca) embryos

Interspecies somatic nuclear transfer (NT) may provide a new approach for preservation of the endangered rare species. Previous interspecies cloning studies have shown that a nucleus from a quiescent somatic cell supports early development of reconstructed embryos in the ooplasm from another species. In this study, we transferred nonquiescent somatic cells from a giant panda into the perivitelline space of the enucleated rabbit oocytes. After electrofusion (at the rate of 71.6%) and electrical activation, 4.2% of the panda-rabbit reconstructed embryos developed to blastocyst in vitro. For improving the development rate of reconstructed embryos, we used serial NT in this study, i.e. blastomeres from reconstructed morulae were transferred into the perivitelline space of the enucleated rabbit oocytes. The fusion rates in the groups of serial I, serial II and serial III were 79.5%, 84.1% and 78.0%, respectively, having no difference with that of somatic group. And the blastocyst rates in serial NT groups were 19.4%, 13.5% and 10.3%, respectively, which are significantly higher than that in somatic NT group. These results indicate that the nuclei from nonquiescent somatic cells can support early development of reconstructed embryos and serial NT can improve the development rate of interspecies reconstructed embryos. These authors contributed equally to this work.     

Nuclear transplantation in different strains of zebrafish

Single later blastula nuclei from AB strain of zebrafish (Danio rerio) were transplanted into enucleated unfertilized eggs of Long fin strain. Of 1119 cloning embryos, 14 reconstructed embryos developed into fry. DNA fingerprinting systems of the cloned fish were similar to those of the nuclear donor fish, but were distinctly different from those of the nuclear recipient fish. It confirmed that the genetic material originated from nuclear donor cell other than from nuclear recipient egg. The research suggested that the basic technique for nuclear transplantation performed with different strains of zebrafish has made a breakthrough. It should be helpful for the study of some important developmental problems such as gene function, the regulation ogene expression during animal development, the developmental potential of a nucleus and the interactions between the donor nucleus and the recipient cytoplasm, etc.